Convergence
Chapter 3
Naruto was, to say the least, a little bit uncomfortable. His new cloths were not what he had in mind. He imagined his new outfit to be simple and effective. However, Neji's taste was… somewhat more expensive. His reflection from the shop window stared back at him with his now pale lavender eyes.
The pale crème jacket was made of pure silk. It slid silently and smoothly. The downy stuffing was sure to keep him warm on even the coldest of Fire Country's winter nights. The hood would certainly help too. All in all, it looked like a much more masculine version of Hinata's jacket, minus the Hyuuga emblem. Hinata… the though of one of his precious people dead brought a pang in his chest that seemed to hurt not just his chest, or his feelings, but seemed to have torn his soul asunder.
He brushed those thoughts aside and continued to stare at his reflection in the window. He wore black shinobi pants, tied up at the ankles to keep the hem out of his way. It as a simple way to prevent tripping. They pants, although not as baggy as most shinobi wore, were far from being the near skin tight pants some Kunoichi seemed to favor. Gai and Lee didn't count as shinobi. Something with eyebrows that big couldn't be called human. More like a dust bunny colony… he hoped.
Naruto turned away from the window, breaking another chain of thought. As he walked, he stared at his feet, seemingly mesmerized by his black shinobi sandals. These weren't just your run-of-the-mill shinobi sandals, but far from it. They had special seas sewn into them that allowed chakra to be much easier distributed throughout the rubber, effectively increasing friction, and making it easer to run faster, jump farther (with a small burst to increase your velocity) and climb easier. Not to mention kick harder.
A shoulder bumped into his, and yet again his train of thought was broken. Neither person went sprawling, yet both were stumbling to regain balance. Although he could see 360 degrees at all times, that doesn't mean that Naruto paid attention to everything he saw. He didn't have to turn his head to see the face of the person who bumped into him, yet he did out of reflex. His pale lavender eyes met with a pair of brown eyes he wasn't familiar with.
"Watch where you're… oh, gomen nasai, Hyuuga-sama. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
The stranger bowed low after seeing Naruto's eyes. This was a new experience to him. Being the village pariah meant that few people, if any, paid any respect to you. Being bowed to in the middle of a street because you ran into someone was definitely something that had never happened to him before. Not knowing what to do, Naruto, blushing furiously, waved a hand in front of him.
"No, no, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention."
"Ah… well, in any case, have a good day, Hyuuga-sama"
The stranger stopped bowing and walked away. A little confused by this turn of events, Naruto just kept walking, this time paying more attention to where he was going. As he walked, he stuck a hand into his pocket. Feeling something hard in there, he pulled it out to inspect it.
Blue cloth framed a silver plate, bent slightly to accommodate a spherical curve. The Konoha symbol was engraved into it. Naruto's distorted reflection stared back from the shiny surface of his forehead protector. Naruto stopped and stared at if for a minute. Somehow, wearing it on his forehead felt… wrong. It was like it was meant to be worn in some other style. Naruto pondered that for a minute. He caught sight of his new eyes, and his thoughts drifted to their previous owner. With a burst of inspiration, Naruto loosely tied it around his neck, tight enough that it wouldn't fall off or make excessive noise, but loose enough not to be constricting or uncomfortable.
Feeling just a little bit better, he continued his aimless wandering. He walked where ever his fancy chose, never staying in one spot for long. It was strange not to get hateful glares, but now… it was that of confusion. Of course, what would 'The Demon' be doing with the Hyuuga's eyes? Not knowing what to make of the spectacle, most villagers just continued doing what they were doing before.
His musings were, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, interrupted.
"Naruto! Hey, Naruto! Wait up!"
He knew that voice. He didn't even turn to look at the head of pink hair that wove its way through the crowd. The medic-nin had a time ducking and weaving through the busy streets. Finally, she got fed up with it and jumped. She stuck to the side of a building and ran along the wall until she was close to her target. Taking another jump off, she twisted and flipped in mid air, coming to a graceful landing next to the blonde haired and now lavender eyed Jinchuuriki.
"Finally! I've been looking all over for you!"
"Hello Sakura-s…um …Sakura."
"Naruto… were you just about to call me Sakura-san?"
"Ano… yeah."
"Wow… Hinata's personality is really shining through, isn't it?"
"Yes, I guess it is."
"Anyway, I'm glad I found you. I didn't get a chance to tell you when you got out of the hospital."
"What is it?"
"First of all, Gaara wanted me to tell you that he's recovered, and he'll be fine. He also wanted me to tell you that he's looking for a rematch."
Naruto grinned, albeit shyly. The prospect of a match against Gaara sounded very exiting.
"And… also, I wanted to tell you… well… it's from Hinata."
Naruto seemed to fold in on himself, almost closing himself off from the world.
"Naruto… I can tell you later, if you want…"
"No… I… I'd better hear it now"
"Naruto…" Sakura, for the first time since he had met the formerly hyperactive boy, found herself depressed around him. In a move that shocked the boy, she enveloped him in a comforting embrace.
"This… this is from Hinata. She wanted to tell you… well, for the longest time, since the academy days, she had a crush on you. She told me to tell you that… that she loved you. She wanted you to be happy. I'm sure that she wanted you to use her eyes to become a great shinobi, to accomplish your dream and become Hokage. I…"
Sakura drifted off, unable to continue. Naruto had streams of tears running down his face. He had a very mixed expression on his face. It was partly joy at finding someone who loved him, extreme sadness that he had lost said person before he could love her back, and a small amount of comfort, knowing that she cared enough to endanger her clan's secrets so that he, the most hated person in the village, could continue to be a shinobi.
Neither one knew how long they stood there. Time didn't matter to them. After a while, Naruto calmed down. Uncharacteristically, he hiccupped once and stopped. Sakura, seeing the mess his face was in, grabbed a handkerchief from… somewhere… and handed it to him. He nodded in thanks and wiped his face and blew his nose. Folding the soiled cloth, he sheepishly handed it back to the girl, who smiled and tucked it away again.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah…"
Suddenly, Naruto's vision became blurry. For a Byakugan user, when their eyes are active, it's impossible to have blurry or imperfect vision, save for their one blind spot. However, this was happening to Naruto. Imagine, if you can wrap your mind around it, being able to see not only ahead, but to each side, above, below, and behind minus one blind spot. Then give it perfect vision and the ability to zoom your vision in any direction for miles. Then imagine looking through walls and other solid objects. Now, on top of this already hard to grasp concept, add another plane of sight.
Not only could Naruto see all around him as he (now) usually did, he could also see… a room. Both sights were translucent, and he could see both at the same time. In this room, he could see a mirror. The reflection in the mirror, however, was far from his own. Hyuuga Hinata's reflection was staring back out. It looked somewhat depressed. Then, he could hear her voice.
"I… I wanted to tell him. I've been watching Naruto-kun for the longest time. I thought I'd have my chance when he came back, but… then… well, things just got carried away. Next time I see you, I will tell him… that I love him."
With that, the image faded. He was blasted back into reality as Sakura started shaking him.
"Naruto, what's wrong!"
"Sakura… I just… I just saw one of Hinata's memories… I think."
Sakura stared at him, open mouthed. Her expression then changed to one of deep pondering. With her eyebrows furrowed, she said "Well, Kakashi-sensei did say that something like that could happen. Memories of times when Obito went through some extreme emotion sometimes come to him. He said the same could happen to you, but he wasn't sure. I guess it wasn't just the copying ability of the Sharingan that recorded the memories. I was right…"
She drifted off. Her gaze wandered all around the market place, finally drifting up to look at the horizon. The sky ranged from a beautiful burnt orange color all the way down to dark blues and violets. A huge red sun was slowly sinking underneath the treetops visible over the top of Konoha's wall.
"Naruto… it's getting late. You should get home and go to bed."
"O…Ok. What about you?"
"Ah, don't worry about me. I slept all afternoon."
"…Why?"
"I have an evening shift at the hospital. Every medic nin helps!"
"Ah, I see. Well, good luck."
"Thanks. See you later, Naruto."
"Bye."
The two friends went their separate ways. As Naruto made his way back to his apartment, he let his mind wander again, but this time, he didn't dwell on any specific through for more than a few seconds. Finally making his way back into his home, he carefully took off his jacket and his black undershirt and the mesh shirt underneath that, as well as his pants. Meticulously folding them, he placed them on a chair that was relatively clean. He grimaced as he saw the 5 other bags of nearly identical clothing sitting in the corner. Deciding he's sort through it tomorrow, he crawled into his near meticulously made bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Tsunade wasn't having a good morning. She had an absolutely monster of a hangover from drinking herself into a stupor last night. That took quite a lot of sake… But then again, it wouldn't have been so bad this morning if it wasn't for the cold stare of one Hyuuga clan head.
Hiashi was sitting stiffly in one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. He held a purely ornamental cane across his lap. His traditional dress was immaculate, as usual, and not a hair of his long and seemingly silky smooth black hair was out of place. His lips, however, seemed frozen in a perpetual frown.
Tsunade rubbed her temples, hoping that the headache would go away soon. She glanced at the clock. It read 8:57. 'Naruto should be here any minute...'
Then, a voice, slightly muffled from outside the door, yelled "Tsunade-obasama! What did you OOF!"
Right when the speaker said OOF, the door shook as something apparently collided with it. After a moment, the door swung open. There stood Naruto in another set of his new cloths. He was holding a piece of cloth, probably some spare bandages from his pocket, to his nose to stem the blood. Behind him, rolling on the ground, two of the most elite ninja in the village, ANBU, were laughing their heads off. One hadn't even noticed that his mask had fallen off and that his face was free for the entire world to see.
Naruto grumbled and blushed, managing to look both annoyed and embarrassed at the same time. He walked into the room and sat down. After a few moments of silence, he put away the cloth as his nose had stopped bleeding.
"Oba-sama, what's Oto… Hiashi-sama doing here?"
Tsunade sighed before saying "That's why I wanted you here. We have to settle something. You now are the proud owner of one pair of Byakugan eyes, which should belong solely to the Hyuuga Clan."
"So, it's true then."
Hiashi's cold voice made Naruto jump slightly.
"Yeah, it's true. They're damn annoying too. I can't turn them off and it seems they like making walls transparent just so that I can run into them…"
Tsunade was having a hard time keeping her face straight, and if you looked REALLY hard, you could see a small upturn of Hiashi's lips.
"So… what can he do about it?"
"Naruto-san, those eyes belong to the Hyuuga Clan. I cannot let anyone outside of our family to possess them."
"But… if you take them, how will I see?"
"That is not my problem."
For a moment, Naruto was silent.
"Hiashi-sama, do you deny that these eyes once belonged to Hinata?"
"No, only her Byakugan had such a lavender tint to them."
"Also, do you deny that, on the battlefield, a ninja's last words can be used as a legal will?"
"…No, I do not deny that."
"Also, do you deny that medic nin are held responsible as witnesses to a dying ninja's last oral will?"
"No, I do not deny it."
"Well… in that case, we have one witness, a Haruno Sakura, who heard Hyuuga Hinata's last words, which were instructions to surgically implant these eyes into me to replace the ones I had lost in battle. Legally, these eyes belong to me. And there's nothing you can do about it!"
At that last phrase, Naruto made a face at Hiashi. Everyone in the room, as well as the two ANBU outside the room, sweat dropped. Hell, even the bird flying outside the window sweat dropped, staring at the boy's childish actions, before running into the side of the tower, breaking its neck, and falling to its death.
"… In all honesty, I'm not interested in repossessing the eyes. I'm worried about the secrets of the Hyuuga getting out. If these eyes were transplanted from Hinata to you, then they can be taken from your body and studied by our enemies. If they knew all the secrets of the Byakugan, then our effectiveness as shinobi would be drastically reduced."
He paused.
"Therefore, I demand that the Caged Bird seal be placed on him to remove the possibility of his eyes being stolen."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Tsunade screamed.
"And why would that be, Hokage-sama."
"Because I don't want to loose a valuable ninja because some Hyuuga decided it wants to off 'The Demon' to gain some recognition. No offence, Naruto."
"None taken. However, there is no need for the cursed seal."
"And, prey tell, why not?" Hiashi said.
"Hiashi-sama… do you know why Jinchuuriki always die when their demons are removed?"
"…No."
"It's because their bodies become… the only word for it is addicted… to their tenant's chakra."
"…Go on."
"My body has been exposed to this chakra since birth… well, shortly after, but who's counting? In any case, the effects of withdrawal would be catastrophic to say the least. If, somehow, I survived, I would suffer from extreme panic attacks, a highly weakened immune system, and possibly some mental retardation. Most likely, I would die."
Hiashi was shocked… but he didn't show it.
"Go on."
"These eyes, when they were introduced into my body, were instantly flooded by Youkai. Just from the fact that they're still working means that they adapted. Now, they too are addicted. Even more so because more chakra passes through these eyes to make them run than most other parts of my body. In other words, if they were to be removed, they would certainly whither up and die before they could be effectively studied. It works in much as the same way as the Caged Bird seal, from what I've heard."
"…I see."
The room was quiet for a moment as Hiashi pondered this new information.
"…What assurances to I have that you will not sell the information of how the Byakugan works to the highest bidder?"
At this, Naruto became visibly angry. Red tendrils of chakra started swirling around him as he spoke.
"Because, to do so would desecrate Hinata's memory. I'm not so low as to take the final gift of one of my precious people and turn around and sell it. I may not be the most respected person out there, but do you really think so low of me as to suspect me of being a traitor? You forget, I'm not like Uchiha-teme… either one of them."
Hiashi looked, surprisingly, ashamed of himself.
"…Very well. I apologize."
"… You're forgiven."
"… I would, however, like to offer you a deal."
"What sort of deal?"
"In exchange for the full support of the Hyuuga Clan as well as access to Branch level Jyuuken instruction, you must marry inside the clan…"
Here he was cut off by a huge "NO WAY!" from Naruto.
"…You didn't let me finish…"
Naruto sat still.
"As I was saying, you will marry inside the clan when you turn 18 unless you meet two criteria. If you wish to get out of this arranged marriage, you must have not only reached Jounin rank, but also be engaged. Should one or both not be met, the betrothal and subsequent marriage will take place. Do you accept?"
Naruto sat for a moment. A chance to learn the most powerful Taijutsu in the village, possibly even in the world, in exchange for the chance of an arranged marriage? He weighed the pros and the cons carefully, sorting them by importance and comparing them. Finally he came to his conclusion…
"I accept."
Hiashi smiled.
"Good. Hokage-sama, do you bear witness to said agreement?"
"Yes. I'll have Shizune write it down later and get you to sign it. Now, is there anything that either of you have to discuss?"
"Yeah, who's gonna be training me?"
"You are quite familiar with Neji-san, are you not?"
"Yeah…"
"Well then, I guess he'll do as a suitable instructor."
Naruto paled and gulped. His life was over…
Hey there! Halo here! Now, I know you're happy and all that I wrote a decently long chapter, but now I have some work for you. I need your input! This may not seem relevant to the near future of the story line, but it is. Should Naruto have an arranged marriage (and fall in love) with someone from the Hyuuga clan, or should he find a fiancé elsewhere? I have several ideas for both possibilities, but I'm not sure which one to choose. Therefore, I'll let you decide!
The running total is (obviously)
Arranged Marriage: 0
Fiancé: 0
well, I hope you enjoyed the story! Laters!